


The Following Problem

by GachMoBrea



Series: Follow Me on a Merry Spree where Confusion Waits [1]
Category: The Following
Genre: "The Curse", AU, Alternate Universe, But he didn't know Mike Knew, Canon Divergence (slightly), Episode Related, Gen, Inspired Work!, Joe is Mike's Father, OOC?, Ryan knows Everything, S01E12, Which is confusing when you read it, bad tags, spoiler tags
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-08-28
Updated: 2016-08-28
Packaged: 2018-08-11 11:45:05
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,035
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7890685
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/GachMoBrea/pseuds/GachMoBrea
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>I read a fan fiction I like so much, my muse wanted to add its own 'flair' to it.<br/>I hope I don't insult "CelticGHardy" with this.</p>
<p>During "The Curse" episode (Season 1, Episode 12)... Joe Carrol learns that Joey isn't his only son in the world...A fact Ryan Hardy already knew....<br/>{Spoiler Tags!}</p>
<p>TWO (2) Chapters about the same story with one change.<br/>Chapter 1: Joe Doesn't Learn the Secret<br/>Chapter 2: Joe DOES Learn the Secret</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1: Joe Doesn't Learn the Secret

**Author's Note:**

  * Inspired by [Following in the Path of Blood](https://archiveofourown.org/works/829272) by [CelticGHardy](https://archiveofourown.org/users/CelticGHardy/pseuds/CelticGHardy). 



> *Tense Warning: It was originally written in Past Tense and I re-wrote it to Present Tense, but there might still be a few words that I missed.*  
> & I did the math with the actors' real ages and it worked out, so meh... I might still be an idiot, but please pretend with me.  
> {{P.S. I own nothing.}}

"Shall I kill him? Shall I kill him, Ryan?" 

"Dad!" Mike chokes out. Ryan and Joe's expressions stutter.  
"What was that Agent Weston?" Joe asked, turning the young man's face to look directly at him. His prisoner merely shakes his head, looking back at him defiantly. Joe turned his attention back to Ryan, "Do you know what he said, Ryan? Did you hear him?"  
Ryan's mouth opens and closes, unable to decide what to say. Should he reveal the truth? After all this time? Was it his place? What would be the fallout of that information?  
Joe tightens his grip on the Agent's neck again. "You seem to be caught in a dilemma there, Ryan. I'm curious, what are you pondering so desperately?"  
Mike chokes in a few gasps of air. Ryan beats against the glass again.  
"Stop it! Stop it, Joe!" Ryan's anger vibrates off his body that was trapped on the wrong side of the glass.  
"Why is Agent Weston calling out to his father when he'd obviously be unable to aid his son? What powers do you think your father possesses, dear boy?"  
"My father, Joe! It's my father you wanted to know about, right?" Ryan tries to pull Joe's attention from his captive. "He went into the store and I stayed in the car, remember?"  
"Oh, right, of course Ryan." Joe smiles, easing his grip so Mike could breath easily again. "Please, continue."  
Ryan swallows thickly. He successfully reclaimed the maniac's attention, but now he was faced once again with his tortured past. "I heard gunshots..."

The past flashes before Ryan's eyes as he vaguely describes what happened that dark night. "...I knelt down and...watched..." Ryan barely managed to get the last word out.  
"What? Watched what, Ryan?" Joe presses, his excitement over hearing the story causing him to lightly tighten his grip on Mike's face.  
Ryan takes a deep breath to steady his nerves. "I watched him...die."  
"And that was the first person you'd seen die?" Joe presses lightly.  
"Yes." Ryan whispers, struggling to keep the tears welling in his eyes from falling. He refused to cry in front of this murder driven psycho.  
"Huh..." Joe looks down at the young agent at his mercy. "What about your father, Agent Weston? I must admit, I'm still a little curious about your earlier outcry. What's your story?"  
Alarm bells ring in Ryan's head. Hadn't what he given been enough? Why was he going back to Mike? What was he thinking?  
Joe retightens his grip on Mike's hair and jerks his head roughly to face him. "Agent Weston! Your colleague, Ryan there, already spoke up about his parentage. Don't you think it only proper and polite for you to answer in kind?"  
"My father-" Mike cuts himself off, clearly struggling with something.  
"Yes? You're father, what Michael?" Joe taps the side of Mike's face non-too gently.  
Ryan couldn't let this continue. He had to draw Joe away again. "He's dead, Joe. He died when Mike was a child. Leave him alone. I'm the one you want to talk to."  
"You are the hero of our story." Joe relents, releasing Mike entirely. He moves closer to the glass, taking a moment to re-gather his thoughts. "Why do you think you are surrounded by death?"

Joe and Ryan speak in the maniac's mentality for a few more moments before Jacob arrived, Agent Parker in tow.  
"I was wondering when you'd come." Carroll addresses his follower. "If Ryan so much as moves, shoot the female agent."  
Jacob has Ryan lose his weapon as Joe exits the room. "Thank you so much for that story, Ryan. I will have to embellish it a little though."  
As soon as Joe was passed Jacob, the follower threw the agent towards Ryan and ran.  
"I'm fine! Go after them!" Parker orders. Ryan doesn't argue.  
Frustratingly, though, the two had escaped.

Later, sitting in the ambulance, Ryan fought with his conscious about whether or not to discus Mike's father with him. He so desperately wanted to know what the agent knew.  
"Ryan?" Mike's voice broke into Ryan's trail of thought. The older man looks up in response. "You did a lot of research on Joe Carroll, didn't you?"  
"You read my book, you tell me." Ryan counters vaguely.  
The young agent fidgets slightly in the stretcher. "Did you ever come across the name Valerie Cinch?"  
'His birth mother's name. The woman Joe accidentally got pregnant in high school. I was right; he knows. How?' Ryan nods, "Yeah, yeah Mike, I did."  
Mike rubs a hand over the un-injured side of his face. "So, you know?"  
"About you and-" Ryan looks around to make sure no one was listening in. He lowers his voice as a precaution, "You and Joe?"  
Agent Weston's face falls. "Yeah... I guess you'll tell Parker and have me removed then."  
"Why would I do that?" Ryan shrugs, looking around again to see if anyone was eavesdropping.  
"Because-!" Mike catches himself and lowers his voice, "Because of who my father is, because of what he's done, because I could be a follower."  
"Are you?" Ryan raises an eyebrow. "Because if you are, you're doing a terrible job. You kept Joe's wife from him, nearly died keeping the secret of her location from him, then spat in his face. You've never once shown any sign of trying to cover something up or slow down this investigation."  
Mike's expression remained incredulous during Ryan's small speech. The older man decides to add the metaphorical 'cherry on top.'  
"Not to mention the fact that Joey's in a similar situation and I'm not figuring him to be a future murderer. People make their choices, regardless of who their parents are."  
"Amen to that last part." Agent Parker agrees with a smile as she approaches the emergency vehicle. "What are you two talking about?"  
"The usual crappy dad stuff." Ryan smirks.  
Parker nods. "Come on, I want to introduce you to someone."  
Ryan nods as well, turning back to Mike and pat him on the knee saying, "Get some rest."  
He exits the vehicle and the paramedics to close the door behind him.

-*-*-


	2. Chapter 2: Joe Learns the Secret

"Shall I kill him? Shall I kill him, Ryan?" 

"Dad!" Mike chokes out. Ryan and Joe's expressions stutter.  
"What was that Agent Weston?" Joe asks, turning the young man's face to look directly at him. His prisoner merely shakes his head, looking back at him defiantly. Joe turns his attention back to Ryan, "Do you know what he said, Ryan? Did you hear him?"  
Ryan's mouth opens and closes, unable to decide what to say. Should he reveal the truth? After all this time? Was it his place? What would be the fallout of that information?  
Joe tightens his grip on the Agent's neck again. "You seem to be caught in a dilemma there, Ryan. I'm curious, what are you pondering so desperately?"  
Mike chokes in a few gasps of air as Ryan beats against the glass again.   
"Joe, stop! He's your son!"  
Joe Carroll instantly releases his grip and stares at the man on the other side of the glass. Mike closes his eyes in defeat.  
"Joey is my son, Ryan. Joey, my son with my wife Claire. Did you forget that, Ryan?" Joe tilts his head, completely confused with his adversary's words.  
"Valerie Cinch." Ryan says, looking for recognition in the other man's eyes. "Senior year, she was new to the same high school you attended. The two of you had a short romance, which ended when she became pregnant. Her parents took her out of school, to hide the shame and she died giving birth to a baby boy."  
Joe looks down at Mike, then back up to Ryan, trying to read something in their faces that would reveal the truth. Something that would say it was all a lie, a trick, a ploy of some kind.  
"I was never told she had become pregnant." he whispers. "She just didn't show up to class one day and no one every told me why."  
He touches Mike's wounds again, this time gently.  
"How long have you known?" Neither Mike or Ryan know who the question was directed to. Joe raises his head to looked directly at Ryan. "Well?!"  
"I found out during my research. There were a few people who remembered the two of you dating, and I uncovered the papers pulling Valerie Cinch out of school early due to 'health reasons.' I then found the birth certificate with her name, no name for the father. The death certificate was filed the same day, as well as the adoption papers."  
"What? They couldn't take care of their own grandchild?"  
"The loss of their daughter, as well as the shame of the illegitimate child, was too much for them to handle." Ryan explains, " They thought they were doing what was best for Mike."  
"Well, they didn't." Joe mumbles, which was an odd way for him to speak, being the eloquent man that he was.

Just then, Jacob arrives, Parker in tow. Ryan instantly had his gun on him.  
"I was worried. You've been down here for a long time." the follower explains nervously.  
"Yes, I was wondering when you'd figure that out." Joe states lightly. He looks down at Mike again, smoothing his hair carefully. The young man again tries to turn his head away.  
Ryan notes Parker's confused look. He'll have to decide whether he will tell her the truth or not. 'It's not really my decision to make...'  
"Jacob," Joe says loud and clear as he approaches the glass. "if Ryan so much as moves a hair, shoot the female agent."  
"Drop your gun." Jacob orders Ryan in reply. Ryan complies.  
Joe exits the room. His eyes lingering on the young agent for a few more seconds before turning to Ryan.  
"Thank you." he says simply, obviously not wanting the other agent to know what he was thanking him for. "I shall have to adjust our story a little."  
Carroll walks passed his follower, who in turn shoves his hostage towards Ryan to make his escape.   
"Go after them!" Parker orders before Ryan can waste too much time helping her. He takes off running without a second thought.  
It's too late though; Joe and his follower are gone without a trace. Ryan places his hands on his hips as he catches his breath, his mind reeling with what he's going to say in his report.

In the ambulance, Ryan sits beside Mike. The paramedic leaves to give them some privacy. Mike doesn't look at Ryan as he sighs, visibly gearing up to say something.  
"I'm guessing you're going to report this intel to Parker, have me removed from the case." the young agent's shoulders sag ever so slightly, 'defeat' written all over his body language.   
'How long has he kept this secret?'  
"Why would I do that?" Ryan shrugs, looking around again to see if anyone was eavesdropping.  
"Because-!" Mike catches himself and lowers his voice, "Because of who my father is, because of what he's done, because I could be a follower."  
"Are you?" Ryan raises an eyebrow. "Because if you are, you're doing a terrible job. You kept Joe's wife from him, nearly died keeping the secret of her location from him, then spat in his face. You've never once shown any sign of trying to cover something up or slow down this investigation."  
Mike's expression remained incredulous during Ryan's small speech. The older man decided to add the metaphorical 'cherry on top.'  
"Not to mention the fact that Joey's in a similar situation and I'm not figuring him to be a future murderer. People make their choices, regardless of who their parents are."  
"Amen to that last part." Agent Parker agrees with a smile as she approached the emergency vehicle. "What are you two talking about?"  
"The usual crappy dad stuff." Ryan smirks.  
"You, giving dad advice?" Parker scoffs. "Come on, I want to introduce you to someone."  
Ryan nods. He turns back to Mike and pats him on the knee to say, "Get some rest."   
He exits the vehicle to allow the paramedics to close the door behind him and leave.

-*-*-


End file.
